Movie plots are as recycled as ever. Remakes of classic television shows into movies, old movie remakes, and lately, comic book movies are as popular as ever. Comic book movies are hitting the silver screen with more frequency than ever, and there is no sign of slowing down. Websites and magazines have rumors of comic books coming to the box office on a weekly and sometimes even on a daily basis. They are fun, action packed, and have a build in audience, so why not?

Comic book movies are not a brand new phenomenon. Superman, batman, and spider man have been in movie and television plots for years. What is new, though, is the obsession with more than just super hero comic books. Graphic novel characters and story lines, villains from comic books, and even some of the old heroes are making their way to movie theaters. One needn’t look any farther than movies like The History of Violence and Road to Perdition to see that it’s not just about superheroes. It’s about tapping into readership, no matter what the comic book may be about.

Make no mistake, the comic book movie trend is not about art, it is about the all might dollar. Comic book movies make plenty of cash at the box office and in rentals. The two Spiderman movies, for example, have grossed nearly 800 million dollars. All of that money and nobody had to come up with an original character. The same thing goes for movies like the Batman series, X-Men, and even the two Men In Black movies. All originated on the comic book shelf, and they all grossed hundreds of millions as movies. No new characters and only readjusted plots were all that was needed to put together movie empires. With that kind of money, it is likely that comic book movies aren’t going anywhere any time soon.